Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Acts 13: 13-25; John 13: 16-20
Dc. Larry Brockman
“The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me”. This really struck me this morning because the betrayal by Judas was just such a complete surprise; and Jesus prediction of it just strikes me.
First, just imagine how Jesus and the other Apostles must have felt. Jesus had chosen 12 men to be around him- twelve men that he could trust and share intimately with. For three years, these 13 people were constantly together. They shared their lodging and their food and their souls with each other. Jesus had sent them all out on a mission, including Judas. They all seemed to jell well together and so, none of them suspected a thing. And then this happens- and we hear about it at the Last Supper. Judas betrays Jesus by handing him over to his enemies. He does it for money- a betrayal of not only Jesus but his 11 other closest friends as well. How absolutely depressing!
All of us have experienced the same thing at one time or another in our lives. Somebody betrays us and it is a real surprise. Somebody promises to keep something you tell them a secret; but they reveal it instead. Somebody uses information you shared in confidence for their benefit; somebody turns on you in business or in a group you belong to. We have all experienced betrayals in our most trusted circles, even in our own families. Betrayal is one of the most difficult things to bear as a human being.
But what struck me was this. Why does Jesus bring it up in this context? He has just washed everyone’s feet- an act of service and tells them they need to do the same. Then He tells them that this unimaginable thing is going to happen And he is telling them about it so that they will believe, so that they will believe that “I am who am”; meaning that He is God.
Notice that Jesus also talks about how no slave is greater than his master. Many of the commentaries speculate about Judas’ motivation for the betrayal. Rather than the money itself, many of them imply that Judas was impatient with Jesus. He was expecting Jesus to do something “big” in the way of becoming the Messiah. But by “big”, Judas meant something spectacular in a secular way. Judas, these bible scholars say, was trying to force Jesus’ hand. So Judas betrayed Jesus out of a sense of superiority. He thought he was smarter than his own Lord and could bring about the restoration of Israel quicker his way, by setting up the circumstances so Jesus would have to do something spectacular.
But Judas was not smarter than His Lord. Judas sin, then, was one of pride and self-absorption. Judas wanted things his way and he wanted them now.
And so, the message for us is simply this. Jesus is “I am who am”, God, and we should never question God’s wisdom. When we think that our way is better than God’s, we are betraying our God because we are putting ourselves first. Just as those who betray us are putting themselves above us.
This Gospel is truly about learning to be humble. We see two examples and where they lead: the humble God-made man who acts as a servant to all; and by contrast, the disciple who thinks he knows better than his Lord, and so, is just serving himself.
